sleeperz Cardiff

sleeperz Newcastle

Hotel honours fallen Cardiff Soldier

Staff at a Cardiff Hotel are donating their Christmas party kitty to a woman who is running 415 miles in memory of a fallen Cardiff soldier.

Capt. Stephen Healey, from Rumney Cardiff, died serving with the 1st Battalion Royal Welsh in Afghanistan and was the 415th British soldier to die during combat operations.

Staff from Sleeperz Hotels Cardiff pledged the funds to support Capt. Healey’s partner Thea Davies, who is raising money for a military veterans charity by running 415 miles over the next year by entering marathons and half marathons.

Ms. Davies is running for Blind Veterans UK, a charity set up to help veterans recover from sight loss and regain a sense of independence in their lives.

It was a charity close to the Capt. Healey’s heart and one which has helped many wounded members of 1st Battalion Royal Welsh Guards.

She has already raised more than £3,500 since she started running in October and is heading to Bermuda in January to run the Bermuda Marathon.

Laura Peeroo, general manager of Sleeperz Hotel Cardiff, said: “Christmas is a party season but more importantly it’s a time for giving.

Members of the armed forces make the ultimate sacrifice to keep our country safe and sacrificing our Christmas party kitty is the least we could do to show our support for Thea and to honour a true Welsh hero.

We wish her every success in clocking up those miles and applaud her determination to help our wounded veterans.”

The hotel staff donated its £200 party kitty, which was made up to £400 by Sleeperz Hotels, a fast growing innovative budget hotel operator, with hotels in Newcastle and Cardiff.

David Myers, chief executive of Sleeperz Hotels, said: “I’m so proud of our Cardiff team for making this generous donation and bringing Thea’s fundraising efforts to our attention. We wish her well and there will always be a bed waiting for her to recover in whenever she runs in Cardiff and Newcastle.”

Notes to Editors

It opened its first UK hotel in the Welsh capital Cardiff in 2008 and is working to a plan to expand and build further hotels in major UK cities, including Liverpool, Manchester and London.

Sleeperz prides itself on introducing a new generation of compact lifestyle hotels into the UK budget hotels market and creating a design led philosophy of colourful, stylish, compact contemporary rooms at affordable room rates.

Its aim is for its customers to experience stylish urban living in a city centre hotel environment.

Sleeperz also aims to build distinctive buildings that make a positive architectural contribution to the cities in which it chooses to build hotels.

The growth in Sleeperz – and the construction of its second UK hotel in Newcastle – has been driven by a £7m investment in the business by the company's investors, including Andre Hoffmann, and Connection Capital. The debt finance for the Newcastle development is being provided by The Co-operative bank.